Fire-extinguisher.



Patented lune ll, l90l.

No. 676,l48.

.1. H. mcoumaLL.

FIRE EXTINGUISHER.

(Application filed Apr. 6, 1901.)

(No Model.)

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.-

JAMES ll. MCCONNELL, OF EVANSTON, ILLINOIS.

FIRE-EXTINGUISHER.

SPEGIFIGATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 676,148, dated June 11, 1901. Application filed April 6, 1901. Serial No. 54,585. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that 1', JAMES H. McCoxxELL, a

resident of the city ot' Evanston, in the county of Cook, State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fire- Extinguishers, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention has relation to that class of fire-extinguishers commonly known as automatic fire-extinguishers, in which the extinguisher is automatically brought into'op: eration in case of fire by means of a suitable thermostat. One familiar form of automatic fire-exti nguishers consistsof a perforated distributing pipe or pipes located usually at the ceiling of a room, the valve for the admission of water to such pipe or pipes being controlled by a thermostat, so that when the term perature within the room reaches an abnormal or dangerous point, as in case of fire, a supply of water will be discharged through the distributing pipe or pipes, and thus extinguish the fire. Various objections exist to this common form of automatic fire-extinguisher, notthe least of which is the fact that the injury to the contents of the room or building caused by water is often of a most serious character. It has also been heretofore .proposed to extinguish fires'by means of a powder which when subjected to high tomperature is converted into a fire-extinguishing gas. Powdervof this kind is variously sold upon the market under the commercial names fyricide, kilfyre, pyrocide, and the like; .but in each case the general character of the powder is the same, and it is ordinarily inclosed within canisters or tubes,

whereby it may be conveniently distributed by hand onto the fire to be extinguished.

The object of my invention is to provide an automatic fire-extinguisher whereby a fire-extinguishing composition in powdered or com-- ininuted form may be readily distributed over the point or points where a fire starts.

To thisend the in ventionconsists, broadly, in combining with a suitable reservoir or source of supply for the powder a suitable power-actuated means for distributing the powder and a suitable thermostat, whereby 5: in case of fire the power-actuated means will bebrought into operation in order to deliver the powder onto the fire.

familiar forms of thermostats; but it is obvious that any equivalent mechanism that will serve to bring into operation the poweractuated means for distributing the powder may be used.

Figure 1 is'a view in side elevation through I mechanism embodying one form of myinvention, the reservoir for the powder being shown in vertical section. Fig. :2 is a view showing in side elevationa modified construction and arrangement of the parts. Fig. 3 is a detail view of the thermostatic device for controlling the mechanism shown in Fig. 2.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in the accompanying drawings, A designates a reservoir, within which will be contained the fire-extinguishing powder. This reservoir is suitably sustained-as, for example, by connection to a bracket B, that may be conveniently attached to the ceiling ofthe room. From the lower part of the bracket B projects the support 0 of a power-driven distributing device 0, the construction of the device shown in Fig. 1 being very similar to that of an ordinary electric fan-that is to say, the support 0 carries at its outer end the motor, through which passes a shaft 0, afiixed to the usual revolublearmature of the; motor.

The upper end of the shaft 0 is shown as provided with a screw or spiral blade 0', that entors the lower end act the pOWdBFI'BSBI'VOiI 1 A. The Screwor spiral c, if formed directly upon the shaft C, is preferably of shallow' pitch, as the shaft will revolve at a high rate of speed; but, if preferred, the screw may be sustained by the base of the reservoir and may be connected by reducing-gear with the shaft of the power-actuated distributing de-. vice, and in such case the screw or spiral 0" may be of steeper pitch. The lower end of .the shaft 0' has connected thereto a scattering device,consisting, preferably, of blades o similar to those of an electric fan and adapted to distribute the powder uniformly over the surface below it. As shown in Fig. 1, the

power-actuated device is adapted to be driven by an electric current, although manifestly any other suitable form of power, such as a. spring or weight, might be employed for this pahsible fluid, and from the top of this cylinder'projects a-piston-stem f, upon which rests a pivoted arm g. I One end of the arm 9 is permanently connected to the wire E of the electric circuit, while its opposite end, resting upon the top of the plunger f, is normally out of contact with the terminaleof the circuitwire E. \Vhen the parts are in the position shown in Fig. 1, the power-actuated device 0 will be motionless; but when the temperature of the room reaches a dangerous height, due to an'incipient fire, the expansion of the fluid within the cylinder of the thermostat Ewill cause the plunger-stem f to lift the arm g until it contacts with the terminal e, and thus 1ution to the blades 0 close the electric circuit between the source of current and the POWGlitChllPttGdydGVlCO G.

The effect of closing the electric circui-twill be to impart motion to the power-actuated device, thereby causing its blades 0 and shaft ()"to rapidly revolve, thus causing the screw orspiral c to feed the powder from the reservoir A down over the scattering-blades 0 the revolution of which blades will serve to'distribute the powder over any fiame beneath it, and thus extinguish the iii-e.

In the form of the invention shown in Figs. 2 and 3 of the drawings the powder-reservoir A is similar to that illustrated in Fig. 1, except that its bot-tom is closcd by a pivoted gate a having a depending arm (1, that proje'cts normallyinto the path of the blades 0 of the power-actuated distributing device G. In this form of the invention the shaft 0 of the power-actuated device extends through a casing 0 that will contain a strong coiled springsuch, for example, as a heavy clockspringthat is adapted to in'ipart rapid revo- The opposite endof the shaft 0 has fixed theretb an arm 0 that is normally checked or locked against revolution bya fusible pin II,whichin this form of the invention constitutes a thermostat. The

pin I-I (which may be of sealing-wax or like material) is shown as supported by a plate h, that is out of the path of the arm 0 When the form of the invention illustrated in Fl". 2 is employed, it will be seen that if the temperature of the room reaches an abnormal height, due to an incipient fire, the fusible stem H will drop away, thereby releasing the arm c and permittingt-hc spring of the poweractuated distributing device to impart rapid revolution to the blades 0 The initial movement of the blades 0 will serve to swing'open the pivoted gate a at the bottom of'the reservoir A, thereby permitting the powder to descend into the path of the blades 0 or of the air-current created thereby. The powder will thus be scattered by the blades 'c and will serve to extinguish the fire upon which it may fall.

It is manifest that any other suitable means controlled bya thermostatic device may be used to distribute the powder instead of the means illustrated, and the details of construction may be varied within wide limits without departing from the invention.

Having thus describedniy invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is- 4 1. An automatic fire-extinguisher comprising in combination, a reservoir 'for'powder or eomminuted material, a power-actuated means for distributing said powder and a thermostat for controlling. the operation of said powenactuated means.

2. An automatic fire-extinguisher comprisi'ngin combination, a reservoir for powder or comminuted material, a power-actuated means fordistributiug said powder, comprising a scatterer and a-thermost-at for control:

ICO

ling the operation of said power-actuated" means.

3. An automatic fire-extinguisher compile ing in combination, a reservoir for powder or comminuted material, m ans for normally closing the discharge-opening of said reservoir, power-ac uated means for distributing said powder adapted to release the powder from the reservoir and a thermostat for conmeans.

4. An automatic fire-extinguisher comprising in combination, a reservoir for powder -or comminuted material, means for normally arresting the passage of powder from the reservoir, po .\'ei--actuated meansfo': effecting the discharge of the powder from the reser-' voir, and providcdwith' a scatterer for dis-- tributing the powder and a thermostat for controlling the operation of said power-actutrolling the operation of said power-actuated 

